ReBirth
by chaostheorite
Summary: Sora, Riku, and Kairi have safely returned to Destiny Islands after defeating Organization XIII, but an unsettling letter from the King and a newcomer to the islands will thrust them into another adventure. And this time, they may not all make it back.
1. Some Disturbing News

"Humm? Ehh…"

Sora rolled over in his bed and glared at the alarm clock that had awakened him at such an early hour. The back of his fist landed on the snooze button as he tried to untangle his legs from the sheets. He relaxed and let out a sigh as the noise stopped. As he laid back in his bed, his arms in a familiar position-on either side of his spiky hair and bent at hard angles to bring his hands together behind his head, he thought of the recent occurrences on the islands. It was strange. He had disappeared for well over a year, but his family and friends greeted him like he had been on vacation without calling home-they were excited and had been slightly worried, but life swiftly resumed its natural course. A big hug from Mom and a few 'I was so worried's and it was all back to normal. How could it be so simple? Could all the worlds really go back to normal after so much had happened? Could he?...  
Sora started to think about what really did happen. Not all of it was clear. So many enemies though…So many people knew about him…and Kairi…and Riku…and, of course, the King… It seemed like they were the important players in some story. DiZ, or Ansem the Wise or whoever he was, and basically everyone else who travelled from world to world was like him-a central player in some performance or skit… so many worlds…and so many people in them, never knowing what's out there-but Sora knew. He and his friends had fought for it. And yet many other worlds were lost, or callously called out of and then back into existence. One thing was for sure: He was changed forever. He wondered if he would be able to go to school, to hang up his Keyblade forever. Riku and Kairi wouldn't be able to. They would enjoy the peace for a while, but then they would crave more adventure. Especially Kairi. When she lifted that Blooming Heart Keyblade that Riku gave her, she had found her fighting spirit. No longer would she be the damsel in distress. So much had changed…

Oh well. Sora dangled his legs off the bed. Best to just enjoy the time spent here at home-everything would work itself out. He hopped out of bed, pulled on a comfy weekend outfit and stumbled out his door as he fiddled with his belt. None of his old clothes would fit him. Just a downside to going out on adventures, he thought. He ran down the stairs to the kitchen. His mother was so happy that her son was home that she could hardly sleep the night before. It was still early, but she had already laid out enough food for an entire breakfast buffet.

"Good morning, Sora!" She beamed. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well." Sora took a seat at the table. "How long have you been up?"

"Not too long." She beamed again, obviously lying. She hummed as she turned back to the stove, adding to the mountain of bacon, sausage, rice, pancakes, crepes, eggs prepared in every conceivable manner, and many other breakfast foods from numerous different worldly cultures.

"Umm…I think you might be overdoing it, Mom." He said apprehensively.

"Sorry honey," She said, her smile only widening, "I was just excited that you were back. Guess I got a little carried away…"

"No-that's okay. I'll invite Riku and Kairi over for breakfast."

"What about Riku and Kairi?" Said a voice from outside the open window.

"Wh-Riku!" Sora jumped with surprise as he saw silver hair and brilliant eyes out the window. "When did you get here?!"

"Just walked up," he replied, "we were about to ring the bell."

"We? Oh! Hi Kairi!" He noticed the girl standing behind Riku. How could he have missed her? Both she and Riku were wearing their clothing they had returned to the islands in. They had probably been up all night talking to their parents. He had never understood how Riku went off such little sleep, but he always had been that way.

"We both woke up early today," Kairi said. Her voice was soft and sweet, like always. It was almost intoxicating now that all the stress of the past few months was over. Her voice was relaxed. It was beautiful. "After we spent some time with our families, we met up on the way here to see what you were up to."

"We expected you to be out cold for half the day," Riku added with a taunting grin.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Sora started.

"Hush, hush," Sora's mother interrupted. "Everyone settle down. Riku, Kairi, feel free to help yourself to some breakfast. I dare say there's enough to go around."

* * *

"Wow," Sora said, pushing himself away from the table, "that was the best meal I've ever had! Thanks Mom!" Sora's mother smiled.

"You're very welcome, dear."

"I think that it counts as more than one meal with how much you ate," Riku said with a grin. He and Kairi had sampled a little bit of the food at Sora's mother's urging. They had both had breakfast with their families. Sora didn't seem to notice the comment. "But it was delicious. All of it was." He smiled sincerely to the chef.

"Yeah it really was!" Kairi added excitedly. "Thank you very much, ma'am!" She bowed her head slightly and smiled.

"Well thank you all." She started gathering up the dirty dishes. "No, no, I'll take care of these, Sora. You go get cleaned up."

"Okay. I'll meet you guys at the island in half an hour okay?" He ran off without hearing the response."

Sora's mother smiled at the two teenagers as they walked out, waving goodbye.

"Have fun, kids!"

* * *

Sora rowed up to the small island. Two little rowboats were sitting at the dock. A note tacked to the edge of the deck was written in Kairi's cute loopy handwriting. It told Sora to find her and Riku and that they'd be wandering the island until he got there. Sora walked the beach, taking in the island that had served as a second home to him for so many years. After taking in the sights that his heart already knew so well, he walked into the rickety Seaside Shack. He walked up the stairs, running his hands across the dents and carvings along the wooden walls, and came out of the door at the top of the familiar rocky outcrop. He walked halfway across the makeshift bridge and enjoyed the sound of the waves and the feel of the spray from the sea. After another few minutes of sitting with his legs dangling over the edge of the bridge, he heard something from the other side of the island that chilled him to the bone. As he ran full tilt to the other side of the island, Kairi's scream echoed in the green canopy above the island.

* * *

"Wow, Kairi. I didn't know you were so excitable." Riku stepped up beside her and gazed at what had shocked her so much just as Sora came running up to the two of them.

"Kairi!" Sora rushed up to her, a concerned look on his face and the Kingdom Key in his hand. "Wh-what is it?!"

"'It'," Riku started calmly, "is a note." He picked up a small bottle containing a piece of parchment. It had been floating nearby. Floating, not on the water, but in the air.

"It popped up out of the waves when we walked up and just kind of…stuck in the air…" Kairi explained, clearly spooked, but also interested in the artifact.

"Yeah, it scared the heck outta me." Riku said sardonically. With a smile, he added, "Didja hear me scream?" Sora was too interested in the bottle to humor him. He had already wrestled the cork from its neck and was desperately trying to reach the note with his fingers.

"Jeez..." Kairi grabbed the bottle, held it above Sora's hands, and rotated it upside-down. The note slid out effortlessly. "Next time, let someone who knows what they're doing get the secret note from the flying bottle." Sora just pouted at her. Kairi gave him a playful wink and gestured toward the note. All three of them read it at the same time, with Riku and Kairi leering over Sora's shoulders as he held it out. This is what it said:

Dear Riku,

Sorry to interrupt ya so soon after ya got back home, but there were a few things that I didn't get to say before Donald Goofy and I left for Disney Castle, and I trust you'll pass the word on to Sora and Kairi, too.

First off, I wanna thank all three of you for your help in protecting Kingdom Hearts and defeating Organization XIII. I know that all of you lost things that were very important to you, and you sacrificed a lot, but it's thanks to you that the worlds were saved.

Second, I would like to apologize to the three of you on behalf of my old friend Ansem the Wise. I know it seems like he manipulated you all, especially you, Riku, but he had the best of intentions. He just let personal matters get in the way a little too much. If he were here now, I'm sure he'd wanna make it up to ya, but since he's not, please accept my apology for him.

Lastly, and it pains me to say this, I need to warn you about a coming danger. It seems that all the activity around Kingdom Hearts this last year has awakened a group more ancient than the Timeless River and more powerful than the Organization.

Ya see, it goes like this: Many years ago, the Door to Darkness that Ansem the Wise discovered and the realm we call Kingdom Hearts was watched over by a group known as the Keepers. Ya see, they keep track of the goings on about Kingdom Hearts. They were immensely powerful, many of them using Keyblades to control Kingdom Hearts. Most worlds had at least one emissary from the Keepers in their midst and no one ever even knew.

But one day, a long time ago, a young Keeper who had been exiled by his master decided that he wanted more power, so that he could become stronger than any Keeper before him. So, to gain more strength, he and his allies opened Kingdom Hearts. Now back then, it was very different from the place where you've been. It was more wild and dangerous. The Keepers, in a last ditch effort to stop the young traitor, used the power of the Keyblades to seal off Kingdom Hearts and merge it with their own world, making it more stable and less dangerous. Then, they took all the Keyblades and made the Door to Darkness, and sealed their world and the traitors inside. After that, the Keepers were almost wiped out, and very few Keyblades survived. As far as I can tell, only four of them made it out, and we have them all accounted for.

That's why it's so dangerous for you three-all the commotion in Kingdom Hearts broke the seal on the traitors locked inside, and now they'll all be coming back to reclaim the Keyblades. You guys have to stay hidden, and don't trust anyone-these Keepers will stop at nothing to get those Keyblades back. I need to go consult an old friend about all of this, then I'll come back to find you. Until I come back, keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. Take care of each other.

Sora Riku and Kairi stood silently after reading the letter. They were in shock.

"So…we didn't change anything?" Sora asked, disheartened.

"The worlds still aren't at peace?" Kairi added, sounding concerned.

"We didn't stop them quick enough…" Riku was angry. "No matter what we do, no matter how we try, it's never enough!!" Kairi shuffled her feet uncomfortably.

"So what will they do if they take our Keyblades?"

"I don't know, but we've sacrificed too much to just lose to some old dudes who've been frozen for a few decades!!"

"We've sacrificed so much," Sora said despondently, "and yet…it just isn't enough."

"Well," said a strange voice, "I've always found that if a little isn't enough, give it a little more." They turned to see a boy, about their age, perched on a rocky outcrop just above them, less than thirty feet to their right.

"And if that ain't enough," he added, hopping down and twirling a cheap wooden cane between his fingers, "Give it everything you've got!" Sora and Riku summoned their Keyblades and stepped in between the stranger and Kairi.

"And if that don't work, then the game's rigged." He charged at them, wielding the cane like a kendo stick. "And if the game's rigged, then to hell with the rules-just enjoy the ride!!"


	2. An Unfortunate Day

Hello everybody. I'd like to thank everyone that read the first chapter. I, personally, thought it was quite a success, considering I had someone favorite it within half an hour of it being posted. In case anybody was wondering, I skipped the author's note on the first chapter because, let's face it; you're here to be entertained, not listen to me babble. I've got big ideas for this story and I hope you all enjoy it. Feedback is encouraged and every hit is appreciated. =) Thanks, everybody!!

Oh, and one shameless advertisement-I plan on posting my new chapter of Another Side: Roxas' Story soon, so if you haven't read it, please check it out. And if you like any stories (not just mine-any that you read here on FanFic) please, share them with people! They are here to be read and enjoyed and people all over the world can access them, so there are bound to be more people that appreciate them! Thanks again!

* * *

**Kingdom Hearts: ReBirth**

* * *

"And if the game's rigged, then to hell with the rules-just enjoy the ride!!" The young intruder's cane impacted Sora and Riku's Keyblades at the same time. A normal piece of wood, or even a metal weapon, would have been destroyed by the force of that blow. His cane, however, bore the blow effortlessly, without sign of wear or strain. He set his body into the standoff, and the three pressed against each other, their weapons locked in a deadly stalemate. The intruder suddenly rotated his hands to the right, and pushed sideways against Sora's Kingdom Key. The force of the push sent him flying into the sand by the water's edge. Riku whirled on his enemy.

"Who are you?! Why did you come here?!" His opponent just smiled leapt into the air. From the top of his jump, he flung his cane at Riku, who sidestepped it with ease. It buried itself a few inches into the sand and dirt at Riku's feet. The intruder landed a few feet away, and Riku swung his Way to the Dawn Keyblade at the enemy's head. The strange adversary ducked and rolled out of the way, and then he charged at Riku. Just as Riku was about to strike, the boy dove through the air and landed one hand on his cane, which was still sticking into the ground. Using the cane as a pivot point, he swung his foot around and into Riku's midsection, all of his weight pulling behind the vicious kick. Riku stumbled back into the stone sea wall as the intruder drew his weapon from the sand and swung at Riku's head. The Keyblade wielder could only stumble pathetically out of the way as he tried to catch his breath. The swing missed completely, but left a long gash in the rock. The intruder then vaulted off of the rock wall, landing gracefully in a disarmed bow before Kairi.

"Hello there. My name's Sirian." He flashed her a charming smile as Sora tackled him. A moment later, Riku was also on top of him, pinning him down with his weapon just out of reach. Sora pointed at the cane, not attempting to hide his amazement.

"What is that thing? It's not sharp at all, but it sliced right into the rock…"

"Just like our Keyblades," Riku added, "he's probably one of the Keepers that King Mickey warned us about."

"You guys know a King?" the prisoner asked blankly. Just as Riku was about to begin questioning him, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie walked over the hill just to their right.

"Wow, Sirian," Tidus said, "I guess I was wrong. You can't take 'em both on at the same time."

"Eh," Sirian tried to look nonchalant. "I had them both on the ropes. I just stopped to introduce myself to the lovely lady in pink over there and got blindsided."

"Wait," Sora started, "you know each other?!"

"Yeah, of course!" Tidus said, as if it was painfully obvious.

"It was his idea for Sirian to fight you guys." Selphie added, shooting a glare at Tidus. As she pushed Sora and Riku off of the newcomer and helped him up, Wakka walked up behind the confused Keyblade masters and put a hand on Sora's shoulder.

"You didn't think that someone would just attack you, right? There's got to be a reason for him to jump you, ya?"

"Well, now that that's all cleared up," said the newcomer, brushing dust and debris off of his outfit. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. Sirian Bail. Pleased to meet you." He smiled sincerely as he reached out to shake Riku and Sora by the hand. "Sorry about all that surprise attack business. I had a bet with Tidus, you see," he added with a wink.

* * *

"You guys are so immature," Selphie said, once the bruises and scrapes had been taken care of, "always fighting to settle things…"

"You're just sore 'cause you lost to Sirian." Titus piped, jabbing her in the side.

"Nah," said Wakka in his slow, relaxed island drawl, "she's just upset that the only kiss she got from 'im was from his cane." Selphie swung her nunchaku as Wakka laughed, ducking underneath her swing.

"It wouldn't have ended the same if we were ready." Riku was still upset about the kick he received.

"_Gomen nasai gozaimasu_" Sirian said. "Riku-I'm sorry about that-Tidus wanted to know if I could take you on. He said you were the best fighter he'd ever seen."

"And that includes anyone at the kendo club I joined after you left," Tidus added. "I guess now you're the second-best."

"Yeah right," Riku said, standing up and lifting Way to the Dawn high. "I'm second to nobody!" He swung his Keyblade, smirking. Sirian met him cane for Keyblade and smirk for smile.

* * *

"I haven't seen Riku this happy since we got back to the Islands." Kairi said as she sat next to Sora, away from the fighting and away the chatter of from Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka's conversation.

"Yeah, he sure seems to be enjoying the fight," Sora said, "…even though he's losing…" Sure enough, Riku was bruised and panting, but his smile never faded. His opponent wasn't hitting hard anymore, in order to prolong the fight. They had begun a sort of brutal game, in which Riku would charge, and Sirian repel his assault, but it was Riku's goal to remove Sirian's left foot from its pivot point in the sand.

"He doesn't care about winning," Kairi said, "it's the action that he loves. That sense of adventure. And now there's no real risk. Before, he was fighting for his heart. Now, it's just an adventure. He wants more adventure."

"Yeah. I guess we all do. I mean, we were planning on seeing other worlds anyway, before any of this really began…" Kairi let out a small, quiet laugh. "Funny?"

"I think all of this began a long time ago. Before we were even born."

"You mean like…fate?"

"It must be destiny," Kairi said, staring into the distance, "and Sirian coming here can only mean one thing."

"What's that?"

"That even stronger people are going to be in our way. Destiny gave us Sirian so we'd have a fighting chance." She looked worried. "We have to become as strong as he is or we'll have no chance." It was the first time Sora had heard Kairi sound hopeless. As Riku and Sirian stopped fighting, Sora took Kairi's worries to heart. He stood, facing the ground, his spiky hair casting shadows over his eyes.

"Then I will become stronger. I will become the strongest any world has ever seen!" He looked up, his soft blue eyes set hard with valiant determination. "I have my friends! You, and Riku, and Donald and Goofy and everyone else! They are my power-I won't lose to anyone!" He looked slowly toward her. "I won't let you down Kairi."

As Riku and Sirian walked up, Sora ran foreword. He stood in front of Sirian, a challenge in his eyes.

"Fight me!" Sora said, loudly. Sirian looked baffled.

"Beg pardon?"

"Fight me! I want to be stronger so I can protect my friends!" Riku interrupted him.

"Sora…you don't need to prove-"

"I," Sirian said sternly, "am not threatening your friends."

"But your kind will! And I need to be stronger than them!" Sora was getting carried away, as he often did.

"Oh really?" Sirian was not impressed. "And what do you mean by 'my kind?'"

"It doesn't matter-just fight me!" Sora swung his Kingdom Key viciously, obviously not playing like Riku had been. Sirian had been spinning his cane between his fingers as he walked, and so already had it in his hand. It still barely caught Sora's strike in time.

"Fine, let's go!!" Sirian was no longer playing around. He spun his cane 'round and brought it down toward Sora's head. Sora stopped the weapon with both hands on the handle of his Keyblade. His feet slipped under the pressure of the blow. He slid his left hand down the Keyblade, catching more and more blows from Sirian. Before long, it was clear that the repeated blows were to wear him down and demoralize him. They landed with the sheer rapidity of a long, loud drum-roll. Such speed would annihilate Sora were it targeted anywhere aside from his only defense. Sora's right knee was now sinking into the sand as he tried to cope with the attack and the lack of purchase the sand offered. Suddenly, Sirian stopped bashing the Keyblade and flipped his cane around, hooked it around Sora's left ankle, and sent him flipping head over heels into the sand. Sora landed on his back, stunned, but still Sirian did not relent. The curled end of his cane caught the hilt of Sora's weapon and wretched it from his grip, and sent it straight into Sirian's own hand. He held the Keyblade and cane crossed in front of Sora's chest.

"I do not anger easily, but I will not be taunted or called treacherous without due cause." Sora could not recall his Keyblade from Sirian's hand. Sirian turned and began to walk away. Riku stopped him, his voice uncharacteristically shaky.

"Sirian…" The boy turned, his eyes hard and unforgiving. "Gi-give him back his Keyblade." Sirian didn't budge.

"Please, Sirian…" Kairi implored. She was the only one who did not seem afraid of him. Sirian turned away from them all. He dropped the Keyblade and continued on his way.

"Well," Wakka started in an unusually somber tone, "I guess fun time is over. Tidus, get his legs, man." The two carried Sora, who was dozing from exhaustion, away to the pier. It was the opposite direction that Sirian had gone.


	3. Two Weeks Pass In A Flash:Peace Interred

New chapter, thanks everybody, no long intro. Enjoy.

* * *

**Kingdom Hearts: ReBirth**

* * *

Sora woke up with a crushing pain in his head and bandages and gauze wrapped over most of his body. He was groggy and disoriented as he looked around the room. It was white and blank. Out the window was a beautiful view of the island sunset. Between the curtains and out the open door he saw his welcoming party. Sirian was talking in a quiet voice to Kairi, who was laughing and blushing a little too much for Sora's comfort. Riku was in the chair next to Sora's bed, reading a book of assorted manga stories. He had just noticed that Sora was awake. He dog-eared his page and set the book down.

"Hey, sleepy head," Riku said, stretching, "You've been out for almost a month. We were worried." Riku's face showed concern, but he covered it well with a more blasé expression.

"A month?!" Sora sat up quickly, and his right side exploded in pain. Riku pushed him back down, ordering him to relax. "How could I have been out for a whole month?!" Sora continued, unabated. "And why is _he_ here??"

"He was concerned," said Riku, still trying to calm his friend. "He's nice when you get to know him."

"Nice?!" said Sora, his loud voice competing with another burst of laughter from Kairi in the hallway. "Look what he did to me!"

"That wasn't his fault." Riku said, drawing the privacy curtain.

"Then whose is it? And what's with him and Kairi?? Are they dating or something???"

"No, no," Riku said softly, "they're just good friends. Like I said, he's a good guy. Now if you'll relax, I'll tell you what happened."

"It was right after Sirian had beaten you silly." Riku started. Sora tried to interrupt, but Riku stopped him. "Wakka and I carried you back to the beach by the pier, and Kairi fetched a rag and some cool water from the spring for you. Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie left you to us, which was lucky because nobody expected what came next and they could've gotten hurt. Anyway, they took off, and Kairi and I were keeping an eye on you. Sirian was off doing who knows what…when all the sudden you stood up and turned on me and Kairi and drew your Keyblade." Sora tried to interrupt, but couldn't decide what to say, so his mouth tried to say eight or nine different words at once. He wasn't making sense, so Riku quieted him and continued on.

"You drew your Keyblade, and it was glowing red, just like Xemnas' Aerial Blades. I tried to parry you and steer you away from Kairi, but you were stronger and faster than I'd ever seen you before. Your feet didn't even touch the ground." Riku paused and Sora stared blankly ahead. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Riku kept going.

"Well, after a few minutes, Sirian came tearin' out of the trees and stopped you just as the King showed up in his 'Gummi Comet;' a ship of his made for high speeds and high-impact landings." Riku added, seeing Sora's puzzled expression.

"The King basically told us that Xemnas has bonded his soul to yours in a desperate attempt to stay alive, and when your body reached its limit in your fight with Sirian, he took over. The King did this weird spell to out Xemnas and then Sirian defeated him. Sirian thanked the King, claimed fault for everything bad that happened because of him fighting you, and he left the island, saying he'd rather exile himself than cause more pain. It took Kairi a full week to find him." Riku added as an afterthought.

"Anyway, you were out cold again and the King explained to Kairi and I how the Keepers were awakening, one by one, and soon they would launch an attack to destroy us so that they could claim the Keyblades. We decided it's our best bet to launch the first attack, since they'll be useless without their leader, he even said he found the guy's name. It was a name he found in an old book of Keeper prophecies. He was the leader of the rouge Keepers that overthrew their order and were locked away in Kingdom Hearts. He said he'd contact us when the time was right and to stay vigilant until then. Then he left." Riku waited calmly for Sora to grasp all he had said.

Sirian and Kairi walked in and pulled the shade, putting Sora's time for quiet contemplation to a close.

* * *

After an awkward conversation about Sora's fight with Sirian and several dozen bids for forgiveness on the part of the latter, the group checked Sora out of the hospital and they began to walk back to the residential district. As they past the beach, Sora lost his patience.

"For the thousandth time, it's okay!" He yelled at Sirian. "I started the fight anyway. Thank you for protecting Riku and Kairi-I don't blame you for beating me up."

"Well, at least let me heal your injuries…" Sirian said. Sora and Riku looked stunned at what he said.

"Heal?.." Sora started.

"Yeah," Sirian said, coming closer and dropping his voice, "you guys know your Keyblades are a result of your hearts' power, right?" They all nodded.

"Well," he said, lifting his cane, "the soul has power, too." He turned toward the open sea. He spun the cane with one hand on the curved handle, the length of the walking stick making faster and faster circles. As it spun, he recited an elaborate incantation:

"Gaia, goddess of stone and hearth, steward of all worlds, make stone as clay and let clay beget stone; master of all power, rock the foundation of this world to the core-spell of elemental power…" he paused and the cane stopped spinning as he recited the last word.

"EARTH!"

His cane came crashing into the ground as a wall of rock sprang from the ocean, a powerful spire of stone sticking thirty feet out of the water.

"Alright, here we go!" Sirian held the curve of his cane with the end rested on his shoulder and two fingers held up like the sights of a rifle. He recited another incantation.

"Ares, fire-borne warrior of chaos, lord of all that burns, smite the world with unending holocaust-spell of elemental power…" The cane spun around in his hand, aiming at the spire of rock like a sniper.

"FIRE!" A huge blast of flame shot from the cane and hurled through the air. It impacted the stalagmite with tremendous force. The entire formation was blown apart and collapsed back into the water. He turned toward the others and was shocked by what he saw. Sora was holding his Keyblade aloft, generating a large, hemispherical shield of energy. Sora smiled and spun his Keyblade around.

"I can use magic, too." He said in a cocky tone.

"Oh…" Sirian was shocked. Both amused and bewildered, he Sora asked quietly, "So why haven't you healed your wounds yet?"

Sora's face turned bright red as Riku erupted into laughter.

* * *

"Well," Sirian said later on, as the group stood on the beach, the sun going down dramatically in front of them, "I'd better get going. I have some business to attend to. See you in the morning!" He added, looking at Kairi. Sora wondered whether the comment was intended for all of them or just her.

"Well that was a vague statement." Sora said after they had bid their goodbyes to their new comrade. He nudged Riku. "Pretty suspicious, eh?"

"Not really," He responded, smiling. "In fact, I'm gonna go do something vague, too. So long, Kairi. Welcome back to the waking world, Sora. See ya tomorrow." As Riku walked away to the mumbled farewells, Sora turned to Kairi.

"So…uh…wanna catch me up on what I missed?" Kairi laughed.

"We already told you everything. Besides, I'd best be getting to bed soon. Sirian's taking me out for breakfast in the morning. And your mom is going to flip when she finds out you've been out of the hospital all day and didn't call her. Night, Sora!" As she walked away, Sora felt completely lost.

* * *

"Why are we going over to his house??" Sora whined.

Because he's our friend, as of last week he's Kairi's boyfriend, and he's a good guy, despite how jealous you are." Riku said. "Now hush. He was nice enough to welcome us into his new house."

"How does a seventeen year old buy his own house?"

"How should I know? Let's find out." Riku walked up to the door and rang the bell. Amid bursts of quiet laughter, the door popped open to reveal Sirian and Kairi smiling in the doorway.

"Hey! Glad you could make it!" Sirian said. "Now that everyone is here, I can open up the 'secret door!!'" he added in a goofy voice. Both inside and out, his house was large, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"What's back there?" Sora asked. Kairi shook her head.

"He wouldn't show me until you guys got here." She said with a smile. Sirian opened an ordinary-looking, if somewhat heavy-duty, door.

"No one has ever seen what's behind this door besides me," Sirian said, "and I have to ask you not to disclose this to anyone." The three nodded. Sirian smiled.

"These things may not be illegal, but that may just be because no one knows they exist."

Thee doorway led to a poorly illuminated staircase, in true horror-movie fashion. Sirian flipped a switch at the bottom of the stairs, illuminating an underground area so large that Sora was sure it entreated on every neighbor in the area's property. If you were to put a hole in the ceiling of this room, you could wind up in at least four different basements. But the size of the room was not nearly as impressive as what was inside it.

The room was full of technology that would make any scientist or engineer drool. In one corner of the room, plants of all sizes grew wild. The foliage was incredibly varied. There were some species that no botanist had ever imagined. All across the area, huge machines made out of indescribable materials produced substances for Sirian's use in experiments. Cauldrons of light and dark magical energies bubbled as chemical reactions produced new raw materials for Sirian. Everywhere they looked post-modern technology and arcane magic meshed in perfect harmony to benefit Sirian's cause, whatever it happened to be.

"You're probably wondering how I paid for all this…" Sirian said, "Well, I've always been interested in nuclear physics, and alchemy as well…" He opened what looked like an industrial freezer, and behind a pane of glass was the largest stash of gold any of them had ever seen.

"You see, by initiating a nuclear reaction, I can turn lead into radioactive gold via alpha and beta particle decay. Of course, it'll eventually decay into a more stable isotope, so I have to spend it quickly." The group was stunned but, as Sirian's words sunk in, the three jumped back.

"Ra-radioactive!?" Riku turned to Sirian, shocked. "You're gonna kill us all!"

"No, no, no." Sirian said. He rapped a knuckle on the glass. "Science has long since known how to incorporate metals into a slow-melting glass. This glass contains lead. You might notice it's quite thick as well-you are completely safe." He said, reassuringly.

"You see," he started, "I've developed everything in this room to better further my ambitions and ease my existence in this world. Anything you could ever need can be produced right here."

"This is amazing, Sirian…" Kairi said, awestruck.

"So is this how you made your cane?" Riku asked.

"Not at all," Sirian said, filling a vial from an enclosed vat in the biological tent and labeling it with a complex name and the words 'EXTREMELY POISONOUS-AVOID CONTACT W/ SKIN' and putting on a shelf, "I've had this cane for as long as I can remember-long before I came to this world."

"You know how to travel between worlds?" Sora asked.

"Yes, but I did not do so intentionally. I have no desire to build a Gummi Ship. In fact, I don't remember how I got here at a-" He stopped short.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked.

"Nothing." He said, obviously lying. "I have a lot to attend to, so, not to seem rude, but I think it's time I escorted you out." Obviously flustered, he added "Really must be getting to work-samples to collect on the island…" he bumped into a shelf, knocking over a vial. He hurried them all out of his front door, assuring them all that the vial was merely a saline solution. His shirt caught fire as he said it. He shut the door hurriedly and they heard a loud commotion inside. The three friends decided to leave him be. That is, Riku and Sora decided and dragged a reluctant Kairi with them.

"He said something about the island," Riku said, "maybe we should hide out and see what he's up to." Kairi seemed determined to get to the bottom of this, and agreed immediately. Sora followed suit. Within ten minutes, they saw Sirian burst out of the back door and set off for the pier at a brisk walk. Following him was easy enough-even when he was in the boat he never looked back to see if he was being followed. He was too distracted. Rowing quickly, they followed at a safe distance and rounded the island, beaching their boat on the opposite side. They marveled at the fact that they had so easily gone undetected.

"Sirian must really be upset…" Kairi sounded worried.

"Well," Riku started, trying to soothe her, "let's see what this is about." They hid in the bushes and watched as Sirian paced up and down the beach. They heard a strange noise; one that their adventures taught them usually accompanied inter-worldly travel. Sirian stopped and confronted someone…if they could only see who…

They quietly shushed each other as Sirian spoke.

"It's been awhile. What brings you to this small world?" The voice that responded sounded familiar to Sora.

"I make my own decisions," the voice began, softly, "and I don't have to explain them to the likes of you."

"Heh." Sirian shook his head. "Secretive as always, eh, Auron?"


	4. Kairi's Flashback

Chapter four-let's get right to it!

* * *

**Kingdom Hearts: ReBirth**

* * *

"Secretive as always, eh Auron?" Sirian said. "You always talk about your story, but you never care to share it with anyone."

"I just see no reason to explain more to you than you need to know." Auron's voice was rough and quiet. Sora recognized it without even seeing him.

"I know more about your comings and goings than you think." Sirian sounded more serious. "You can't just fire off your spiritual energy like that," he said, lightening up slightly. "I'm surprised half the island didn't show up here!"

"You forget," Auron started calmly, "that normal people cannot sense a warrior's energy like you can."

"Even so," Sirian said, now calmer, "I hope you didn't let the others see you. We don't need them to know you're here. It could ruin our whole plan." Hidden in the bushes, Kairi whimpered softly, a pained look on her face. Riku softly squeezed her shoulder to comfort her.

What had happened, Kairi thought to herself, what was going on? Sirian said he trusted me, he told me everything about himself, the good and the bad… Why was he being secretive? She thought back over the month and a half they had known each other. He blamed himself for a lot of things, but he was a good person. He was kind, fearless, noble and headstrong, and completely enthralled in his friendship with her. A week ago tomorrow, she told herself. Exactly one week ago tomorrow, he asked me out to our first date. It was the first time she had ever seen him nervous. He saw their relationship as a way to get to know each other without rushing into things. They hadn't even had a first kiss yet. But, the way he was talking…had he planned coming to the islands? Could their relationship just be part of his plan?

She thought back, recalling everything that had happened. She remembered Sirian ambushing them and that corny little introduction. She remembered what she had said to Sora as they watched him and Riku spar.

"Destiny gave us Sirian…" She had always believed in destiny. That's why she always found it amusing that she had moved to a place called Destiny Islands.

She remembered the leap in her heart when Sirian charged out and restrained Sora. She remembered how she could feel the air resonate with his calming aura as he battled Xemnas' spirit. She remembered how after five days of searching she found him and he refused to let her get close because he didn't want to cause trouble. She remembered how awkward he acted, bowing when he greeted her every day. She remembered the way they joked around, and how he loved Japanese language and culture. She remembered how they became closer and closer, eventually spending every day together. She remembered finding out he was an orphan with no knowledge of his parents, just like her. She remembered the first time he had called her 'benihime-san,' and how his voice shook as he explained that 'beni' meant crimson, for her hair color (which he adored) and how 'hime' meant princess. She had thought it was sweet, if a bit corny. Now she realized he may have been referring to her as one of the Princesses of Heart. But still…that couldn't explain away the way he shook the first time he had held her hand or how his voice had cracked when he gently asked her on a date for the first time. He couldn't be planning against them…he got along with Riku really well, and even though Sora was jealous they still got along, and Sirian was teaching them both to fight even better than they could already. Sora and Riku were powerful; they could float and they created huge swaths of magic energy with their Keyblades with every swing, but still they paled in comparison to Sirian. If he had wanted to, he could have annihilated them all…

But he didn't. He taught them to fight; he taught her a few magic spells; he even showed them his secret lab today, but here he was, talking to some warrior from another world about mysterious plans…could she still trust him?

She recalled a conversation, one of many that the two of them had over the last month; a conversation about trust and faith.

"Do you trust me, Kairi?" Sirian asked. He had been trying hard to prove a point.

"Of course I do," Kairi said, "You're my friend."

"Are you sure? Are you sure you trust me? Not just blind faith…can you really trust me?"

"Yes."

"Draw your Keyblade."

"What?"

"Trust me." She reluctantly drew her Blooming Flower Keyblade. "Good…now strike me down."

"What?!" Kairi was alarmed. Sirian grabbed her hands as they rested on the hilt and stabbed himself in the chest with her weapon. She squealed and pulled away. There was no mark on him.

"See? I trust you not to hurt me." Kairi still looked scared. "A Keyblade can only harm someone that the wielder wishes to harm. You obviously wish me no harm." He swung his cane around and hit her on the shoulder. It stopped quickly as a normal blow, but did her no harm at all. "My cane works the same way." He smiled. "It's nice to be able to trust someone."

"So you really trusted that I could never hurt you?"

"Yup!" Sirian smiled. "Would you like me to teach you something?"

Kairi shivered in the hot dark. She had to trust him…

"Well, I hope you planned on telling your friends," Auron said. Sirian looked down guiltily.

"I haven't told them…I should have…"

"Heh, you've ignored your senses."

"What do you-" Sirian turned and looked straight at the bush where they were hiding.

"Don't tell them." Auron's voice echoed across the beach, but he was gone.

Sirian looked ashamed.

"Come on out, guys." Sora, Riku, and Kairi stood up, revealing themselves. Sora tried to speak.

"So…what was that abou-" Kairi raced to Sirian before Riku could finish his sentence. She stood in front of him. He looked down. She grabbed his hand, his cane in it, and jabbed herself with the end, which she remembered had cut through solid stone. It did no damage whatsoever. She wrapped Sirian in a hug.

"It doesn't matter what it was about."


	5. A Dark Revelation

"Alright, I should've let you in on this from the beginning." Sirian bean explaining things once the four of them reached his house again. A fire growled low in the fireplace, throwing dramatic light and shadows over their faces.

"I really am sorry," he continued, "and you three have been trusting far disproportionate to my honesty and openness." Riku broke in before Sirian could continue.

"You don't have to tell us, Sirian. Like Kairi said, it doesn't matter what it was. I'm sure you had a good reason not to say anything."

"Yeah," Sora piped up, "you can have your secrets if you need to. We can respect your privacy. I'm sure Auron had a good reason to not have you tell us, too."

"Well, there was only one part that Auron needed to keep secret." Sora noticed the strain on Sirian's mind showing visibly on his face. "You see…"Sirian struggled to find a way to say it. "You see, the islands are not safe."

"Not safe?" Kairi looked confused.

"How so?" Sora asked, remembering when the islands had faded into darkness.

"There is a new enemy on the horizon, dangerous, menacing, and stronger than Heracles."

"What?!" Sora stood up quickly. Kairi and Riku looked confused.

"Stronger than who?"

"Do you mean Hercules? Who could be stronger than Hercules?!"

"Apparently," Sirian started somberly, "Auron has been staying on a far away world and battling I its coliseum, where tournaments for powerful warriors are held. During one of the tournaments, the final contest was between Auron and the local hero, Heracles. Both are accomplished fighters, noble and well-liked by the spectators. During the battle, a strange warrior from another world showed up and interrupted the fight. He challenged Heracles, since he had heard tales of his superhuman strength, and completely overwhelmed him. Auron used a trinket gained from the powers-that-be on that world so that he could travel here and contact me. He wanted me to help him dispatch this enemy in case he posed a threat to the Destiny Islands."

There was a long silence, broken only when Sora asked quietly,

"So…how do you know Auron?" Sirian shook his head.

"I'm afraid that that is one thing Auron forbade me to tell you. I'm sorry." Sora saw the look in Sirian's eyes and decided not to press the matter.

"It's okay," he said, "how do we prepare for this new enemy?" Sora saw a shared smile creep to Sirian and Riku's lips. Riku stood up and answered for the two of them.

"We train. This is a brand new battle, and if we start our training now, we'll definitely be ready!"

"Couldn't've said it better myself." Sora watched as Sirian lightened up for the first time since he had shoved them out of the house before running off to the island.

A few minutes later, Sora and Riku were preparing to leave and return to their homes. Sirian and Kairi were talking in the kitchen.

"Hey Sirian, we're gonna take off…" Sora stopped short at the door as he caught part of the conversation inside. The two speakers had not heard him.

"Sirian," Kairi was saying seriously, "what's wrong? Something's bothering you."

"It's about the warrior that invaded the coliseum." Sirian's voice was hesitant.

"What is it?" Kairi's voice was soft and sweet.

"He didn't just beat Heracles. He led a platoon of inhuman troops and took over the whole world until he could locate his target."

"What is he looking for?" Sora's body went rigid as he heard Sirian's response.

"He was looking," Sirian was quiet and intense, "for a young man, who he was ordered to find and annihilate. A young warrior of the light with spiky brown hair, who wields a Keyblade."


	6. The Preperations Begin

Sora's alarm buzzed early the next morning. He switched it off with one lucid movement of his hand. He was already awake. He hadn't slept at all. He hung his legs off the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor. He leaned his head back and looked at the model ship strung to his ceiling.

One month.

They had enjoyed one month of peace and it was already over. It was all beginning again. He wondered if all of this would ever end. Would they always have to fight? Would it keep going long as they have the Keyblades?

He looked out his window. Time to go to the island.

/////////////////////////

Sora rowed up to the island. He was the last one to arrive, as usual. Sirian was talking to Kairi and Riku on the beach. When Sora walked up, the trio turned to him and greeted him.

"So is everyone ready to start training?" Sirian said, getting right to business.

"I am if you are." Sora was inspired to not only prove his strength, but to improve on it as well.

"Alright, Sora," Sirian said, "let's see your ultimate fighting technique. I need to see you in top form in order to help you improve. I've got an understanding of Kairi and Riku, I just need to see your true power so that we can begin to hone all of our skills." Sora noticed for the first time that Riku was slightly sweaty. They had been working hard already this morning.

"Riku, can you help me?" Sora asked.

"Of course. I'll lend you my power." In a brilliant flash of light, Sora's outfit changed to a black and silver suit, and both his Kingdom Key and Riku's Way to the Dawn Keyblade floated about his free-floating body.

"Interesting," Sirian began, "You operate off of an ally's power?" Sora nodded. "And I assume the ally is usually transmitted away to avoid harm?" Another nod.

"Sora and I have gotten better at channeling his power; it used to take two comrades to transform. Now, it doesn't even take all of my strength." Riku explained.

"Very nice indeed. Shall we spar, Sora?" Sora smiled and floated toward Sirian rapidly. Sora's Keyblades made a downward, X-shaped slash at Sirian, who dodged and jumped toward Sora, cane in hand. The Keyblades came flying up to parry Sirian's swing. The recoil lifted Sirian off his feet. Sora used the opportunity to press him with one Keyblade, to keep him in the air, where he could get no force behind his blows. Sirian parried and spun in the air, land solidly in the sand. Sora's Keyblades flew furiously at him, unrelenting in their speed and accuracy. But Sirian blocked every shot. Sirian saw an opening in one of Sora's wide swings, and struck a heavy blow at the defending weapon, knocking the two mythical weapons back. During the short intermission from Sora's attacks, Sirian gathered a mass of dark energy around his right hand. Sora was shocked but retained his composure and swung one Keyblade down at his rival and pulled the other close for defense. Sirian dodged the attack, and dove at Sora, his left-handed cane strike sending the other blade reeling. Before Sora could react, Sirian grabbed his ankle with his darkly glowing right hand. When Sirian let go and rolled away, the dark energy spread across Sora's body swiftly. Sora's outfit and demeanor changed as the darkness consumed him, but the Keyblades continued to fly at Sirian. Sora lost sight of Sirian for only a moment, but that was all it took. Sirian was above Sora, with brilliant light energy in his right hand, quickly forming a cage around Sora from above. Sora tried to escape, not understanding this meld between light and dark powers, but the prison slapped shut around him. He pounded the prismatic walls, but he couldn't break free. Sirian walked up slowly.

"Our sparring session is over now. You can revert to your normal state; I have all the information that I need to begin designing our training regiment."


	7. Sparring: Serious Business

Hey everybody! I know it's been…what? A year? Maybe more?... since I updated last, but in the words of Ned Kelly, such is life.

I enjoyed writing this chapter. There isn't much story development, just a long fight scene and some hints at character development. The next chapter I put up will have more of the dialogue and explanations that so many love and so many others simply suffer through, but in this chappie, it's all action, baby!

Before anyone asks, yes this was a fully choreographed fight scene, all originally created by me.

Also, remember that, as I embellish in detail quite often, the wordiness of the passage does not always match the rapidity of the "real-time" action. Maybe that makes me a poor author, but hey, if I was really a great writer, someone would be having you pay to read my stories.

I own no symbols or elements of this story besides the original character Sirian Bale, the original storyline, and that sweet sweet cane.

All other story elements are property of their respective owners.

(Painfully obvious, but now I'm legally covered.)

/

As they rowed up to the small island, several days after Sora's battle with Sirian, Riku, Sora, and Kairi could see a commotion on the beach. When they finally docked their boats on the small pier, they had seen Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie all gather around Sirian's feet. They looked a little worse for wear, but Sirian was in pristine condition.

"Hi guys!" Sirian beamed, "How about a warm-up battle before we train?"

"Don't bother!" Tidus interjected as Riku opened his mouth to speak. "He just beat all three of us, _with only his left hand_. And we still didn't stand a chance!"

"Um, are you sure we should spar right now, Sirian?" Sora said unsteadily.

"Yeah," Riku added, "we don't have our _wooden swords_." Riku's voice pointed at the trio sitting bruised in the sand.

"That's fine," Sirian said with a smile, "Just use your Keyblades." To the surprise of the three Keyblade wielders, their friends were not shocked or confused. Wakka smirked and watched them from the corner of his eye, Selphie bit her lip and watched them excitedly, and Tidus positively beamed with anticipation at the three of them.

"What?" Sirian said in response to the look on Sora's face, "Did you expect them not to notice anything? I leaked a few specific details, but I did leave you to tell them your own stories."

/

The next few hours passed quickly, with Sora, Riku, Kairi, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie discussing everything openly for the first time. It felt good not to have to keep their adventures secret anymore. The young sextet had agreed to spar, like Sirian had suggested, as a warm-up. So after a few stories, they had gotten everyone caught up on the powers, strength, and general background of the Keyblades. Kairi had also healed Wakka Tidus and Selphie, so they were back at full strength even after losing their match earlier.

Sirian was ever-so-gallantly snoring in the sand across the beach.

"Wait," Sora said, once the summit was complete, "what are you three going to use for weapons? I mean, no offence, but the weapons we used to play with were just toys… Our Keyblades and Sirian's cane are on a whole different level."

"We don't use those little kiddie toys anymore!" Tidus said with pride, raising his staff as Selphie produced her nunchaku and Wakka his blitzball.

"But, all your weapons look the same as a year ago…" Riku looked confused. He had noticed that he seemed to be more and more confused lately. _ If I'm not careful, soon I'll be just like Sora,_ he thought with a grin.

"Sirian got these for us!" Selphie squeaked excitedly.

"They look just like out old training weapons, but they're balanced better! I dunno where he got them, but they're 100% battle ready, too!" Tidus added.

"Ya," Wakka chimed in, in his slow island drawl, "they sure stood up to the beatings during our training pretty well." Wakka held his blue and white blitzball, proudly tucking it under his arm.

"They seem magic, too," Tidus added, "Like, Sirian taught us different techniques with them. Like Wakka can recall his weapon no matter where it flies off to! We still need more practice and training, though, you see we-"

"So you three have been training with Sirian, too?" Kairi interrupted gently.

"Ya, Tidus was just beggin' Sirian to teach him to fight, and I sure don't mind a good match now and then!" Wakka jerked a thumb toward Selphie, "And she joined in 'cause she's got a huge crush on Siri-"

"I do not!" Selphie yelled in protest, stomping her foot in the sand.

"Well, anyway," Riku said, trying to prevent a time-wasting detour in the conversation,

"Are we all ready to spar?"

"It's about time!" A voice declared. It was Sirian, yawning, stretching, and making his way over.

"Oh! You're awake!" Selphie blushed, wondering how much he had heard.

"Selphie, when you yell you could wake the dead." Selphie turned away from Sirian for a quick thirty second sulk.

"Okay, so who's sparring against who?" Sora asked the group.

"Easy," Sirian said, still stretching, "you six against me." The whole group went quiet.

"That's ridiculous, even for you!"

"Fine then," Sirian rubbed his chin in thought, "I guess I should even the odds…" He snapped his finger, epiphany showing on his goofy face. "I know! I won't enhance my attacks with magic. But if I go melee-only, I don't have to hold back! Deal?" Riku grabbed Sora before he could burst out again, dragging him backward with one hand planted firmly over the brunette's mouth.

"Okay, deal." Riku grinned. "Just give us a sec to hash out a strategy." Sirian shrugged.

"Okay." As he twirled his cane and went to splash some water from the falls onto his face, Riku whirled on Sora with a maniacal grin.

"Look, I know what you're gonna say, Sora, but how long have we known this guy? Almost two months now? And how many matches has he had? A few DOZEN? Well this is our first real chance to see him lose a match. It's just a warm-up, like he said, so we'll beat him quick and get down to training!" Sora met Riku's insane expression with a sly grin.

"Right…" A quick high-five and they were ready to go.

"You two don't hurt him!" Kairi, Tidus and Selphie looked at each other. The same thought went through all three of their minds.

_Was I the only one who said that?_

/

As the six teammates took a loose battle formation, Sirian flourished and raised his cane. He gestured toward them.

"Who will lead the charge?" Sirian smiled. Much to the surprise of everyone there, Kairi rushed in first, wielding her Blooming Flower Keyblade.

"Don't go easy on me just because I'm a girl!" Sirian knocked strike aside with a heavy kendo strike, flourished, spun, and unceremoniously shoved her aside with his left arm, using his cane to block Riku's Keyblade in mid strike. Sirian shoved their locked weapons upward, breaking Riku's guard. Sirian caught the silver-haired boy with a knee to the solar plexus while his can flashed out to the side, parrying the Kingdom Key just as Sora struck. Sora attempted a heavy-handed counter attack, but Sirian dodged, leaving Sora in a vulnerable half-bow. Sirian dispatched a still-reeling Riku with an elbow to the face, then pommel-slammed Sora on the back, then kicked him in the stomach. As his leg came down, Sirian executed a textbook kendo strike to a still-double over Sora, sending him crashing into the sand.

Sirian now faced a three-pronged melee strike from Kairi, Riku, and Tidus all at once. Sirian sidestepped, grabbing Kairi's hands and using her Keyblade to block Tidus's staff while Way to the Dawn was stopped sharply by Sirian's cane. Sora pushed Kairi into Tidus, buying himself a few extra feet of distance and a few moments of extra time. Sirian's right arm simultaneously slipped past Riku's guard while still maintaining their lockup, allowing him to elbow Riku in the solar plexus. He heard Riku mutter something about 'the exact same spot' as he used a judo throw to put Riku out of the action until he regained is wind. He focused on Tidus and Kairi again.

Kairi charged again, and this time Sirian let her run through him, placing a foot on her stomach and rolling backward, whispering 'please forgive me' and throwing her across the sand in a painful series of somersaults with her own momentum.

"You told me not to go easy on you!" Sirian called to Kairi as he rolled away from Tidus's ground strike. Tidus tried his own overhead kendo strike, but Sirian blocked it by sliding his left hand down the length of the cane, forming a high horizontal guard. The high lockup left Tidus's abdomen exposed, and a karate front kick from Sirian knocked the wind out of him, stunning him and putting him on the ground.

Wakka and Selphie, being the mid- and long-range fighters, had used the first few action-filled minutes to notice the positions where their partners attacked from and to reposition themselves in order to reinforce them without hitting them in the crossfire. What they should have noticed was that their team had taken over a dozen hits in less than ten seconds thanks to the 'full frontal assault' technique, but Selphie rushed in anyway, and Wakka took little time to plan when he launched his blitzball strike.

Sirian deflected the blitzball, and then ducked under the whip-like nunchaku, sticking his cane into its path. Selphie's weapon was now wrapped around Sirian's. With a few creative flourishes and dance-like spins, Sirian had tied and tangled the nunchaku around Selphie. Wakka, however, had now gone into his attack sequence, launching another blitzball strike. Several things then happened with such rapidity that Sirian was the only one who knew several of them happened at all.

Seeing the offending blitzball coming, Sirian leaned back from the temporarily helpless Selphie, but left his left foot planted behind her ankles. Just as he reflected Wakka's blitzball toward Selphie with his cane, he raised his left foot, and the combination of the impact and the leg trip left Selphie in a tangled heap several yards away.

Sirian used a high full-body guard to defend himself as Kairi attacked from behind, and Wakka launched himself into the air to strike again.

"Gomen nasai, Benihime-san." Sirian leaned out of the way of Wakka's attack, allowing it to catch Kairi's forehead with full force. Sirian then deflected the blitzball again after it rebounded off of Kairi and batted it, sending it screaming back at Wakka. He had done all of this so quickly that Wakka was still in the air. Wakka crossed his arms in front of him, defending against the blow.

"Ha-ha, didn't hurt a-SPLASH-"The impact knocked him so far backward that he landed in the water, several yards away from the dry sand, cutting off his boast mid-sentence.

The Sextet had now learned their lesson about rushing in without planning. Riku and Tidus squared off with Sirian as Sora and a dazed Kairi retreated to regroup.

"Kairi!" Sora called, "I need your Keyblade! I can transform on my own but I need your weapon!"

"Right! Here! I'll keep healing you guys while you fight!" Sirian looked a tad surprised as he fended off Riku and Tidus's flanking maneuvers.

"Sora can transform alone now?" He puzzled aloud. "Kairi can use magic without a weapon to channel it?"

"We've been training, too!" Riku said, accentuating the sentence with a powerful high swing as Tidus swung for Sirian's ribs. In an awesome display of athleticism, Sirian dodged both of their strikes, leaving his foes unbalanced, and grabbed Riku's ankle. He then threw Riku into Tidus, sending both of them to the ground. As they lay dazed on the sand, Riku muttered something about being sick of being thrown around, while Tidus whined about the Keyblade that was digging into his ribs and how heavy Riku was.

Selphie swung her nunchaku, which Kairi and Sora had untangled as Sora prepared to transform, at Sirian, but he deftly deflected it, reflecting it back at her as it struck her head with a loud thud. A moment later, he had swept her legs from under her and sent her flying across the sand.

"Ooo, I give up." Selphie held her aching head as she sat in the sand. While Selphie was capitulating, Sora was advancing on Sirian, his red outfit flashing and two Keyblades whirling in his hands. Sirian clashed with him, pushed off, swung, parried, and clashed again. Sora had certainly been working on his dual wielding skills.

Meanwhile, Wakka was finally up on solid sand again, shaking saltwater out of his clothes, stretching his throwing arm, and waiting for the perfect time to strike. As he circled the fray and watched, he got a tingling up his spine that told him to attack right then.

"Take THIS!" Wakka yelled, leaping high into the air and launching his special strike just as Sora and Sirian pushed away from another clash. For everyone involved, the next few seconds seemed to come in slow motion. Sirian saw the attack behind Sora, and as soon as they had pulled back from the clash; he set his body, low and powerful, to make a stabbing thrust. Sora had heard Wakka's yell behind him, and performed a high-jump flip to avoid the blitzball as well as Sirian's cane. Watching the ground through the flip, Sora saw Sirian adjust the angle of his cane ever-so-slightly, in order to hit the blitzball straight on. If Sora had not jumped, he would've been sandwiched between to very heavy blows. The blitzball flew back to its owner at double speed, but Wakka's arms were down from the follow-through of his throw, and he could not react in time to guard.

_I really gotta stop announcing my attacks, _he thought as the attack made contact. He was hit hard, and as he flew backward he saw the pier rising up to meet him.

"Ah, man." He landed with a heavy thud on the solid hardwood. "That really hurt. I'm out for now." He muttered, collapsing in exhaustion. Sora and Sirian set their feet, squaring off again. Kairi had healed Riku and Tidus, and as they rushed off to fight again, Kairi ran over to cast her healing spell on Selphie and Wakka. They had already given up, so they couldn't rejoin the fight, but she could at least make sure they weren't hurting too badly.

Sirian now faced a difficult challenge: He was standing in the middle of the beach with three opponents encircling him. For the first time in this sparring match, Sirian was put on the defensive. The three took turns striking, in an attempt to find and exploit an opening in his defenses. Sora, dual-wielding Kingdom Key and Blooming Flower, was the primary attacker, and Riku and Tidus were mainly engaged in trying to flank Sirian. They attacked at every weak spot or opening in Sirian's guard, but he always managed to move just far enough to avoid getting hit or to flick his cane around him just in time to deflect what would have been a devastating attack. Still, despite his obvious superiority in battle, fending off attacks from all sides had disallowed him from making any attacks of his own.

"Sora!" Riku called from amidst the fray, "Change of plans! Go long-range! We'll keep him busy!" Riku and Tidus doubled their efforts as Sora jumped back.

"Kairi!" Sora threw Blooming Flower to her as he reverted back to his standard form and silently casted a Thunder spell at Sirian, forcing him to dodge and preventing the attack he had been about to launch on Riku. Kairi joined the melee-mob just as Sora's outfit turned blue. He glided around the outside of the fray, shooting his magic bullets at Sirian whenever he saw an opening.

"Chikuso!" Sirian moved even faster in order to keep up with the three melee weapons as well as Sora's bullet attacks. His mind raced.

_They think they're losing because they still haven't landed a hit yet, and they're even wearing down, but this is bad. It's all I can do just to keep up with them all, and if this drags on my stamina will give out, and Kairi renewed two of them with her magic! If I don't do something, they'll win this battle through attrition!_

He looked around desperately for a way out of his predicament. In a moment of dire focus, he observed everything around him in still-frame detail. He had just parried an attack from Riku, meaning that the strongest melee attacker would not be attacking again for a precious second or two. Sora was using his gliding Quick-Run technique to try to get into a better position to attack, and was just setting his feet to attack again. Kairi was about to strike, but Tidus, opposite of Kairi, had left an opening as he was preparing to attack. Behind Tidus, Sirian saw the sea wall at the top of the beach. He took a deep breath and dove through the gap in Tidus's guard, dodging Kairi's strike and causing Tidus to flinch. Sora's bullets quickly began impacting the sand as he rolled and ran toward the sea wall. He reached the wall, spun, set his feet and reflected the barrage of bullets. The three dumbstruck warriors did not allow him a long reprieve, and engaged him immediately. With his flank protected by the wall, Sirian was now much easier able to cope with the tri-horned attack.

In fact, Sirian almost immediately noticed something that had escaped him in the more hectic standoff earlier: Kairi was weak.

Now, of course she wasn't as strong as Tidus or Riku to begin with, but at the moment she was much weaker than she usually was. _Of course, _Sirian thought, _in all the commotion, Kairi forgot to heal herself! And Sora didn't get healed either!_ Between the battering of the weapons, Sora was prowling like a lion, searching for an opening. Sirian got an opening first, however, when one of Tidus and Riku's attacks aligned perfectly. He was able to block both of them at once with his right hand, and with his left he grabbed a slowly tiring Kairi's hands, using her once again as a guard. He spun around her, lashing out and landing a strike on Riku. Sora swung around to the left side of the group, firing more bullets, so Sirian spun back inside of the circle, parrying Tidus and spinning Kairi, who took a few stray hits from Sora's attack.

Sora was now desperate to catch Sirian, and he opportunistically leaped over the group, firing down from above, but Sirian used a dizzy and dazed Kairi as a human shield, rolling her across his back and then tossing her across the sand when Sora landed from his aerial assault. Sora immediately zipped off to check on Kairi, desperate to heal her.

"Kairi, are you alright!" Riku yelled after her.

"She'll be fine," Tidus said sternly, "don't lose your focus!"

"Why ever did I teach you that?" Sirian asked rhetorically. Dispatching Kairi and distracting Sora had definitely restored Sirian's advantage in the fight. With one well-executed guard, Sirian threw Riku off balance, allowing him to grab Riku's free wrist, spin away from Tidus's attack, land a vicious tae kwon do kick to Riku's ribs, and judo throw him away for the umpteenth time that day.

_I have to eliminate someone before they regroup!_ Sirian deflected Tidus's next attack with a one-handed cane parry then landed a wild-fisted left haymaker to Tidus's cheek. As the boy stumbled, Sirian landed a series of fast and vicious combination of cane strikes. Tidus landed in the sand with his staff several feet away.

"Ow… I think I'm done…" Tidus simply lay in the sand rubbing is aching head as Sora, now back in his standard form, and Riku rushed to engage Sirian once again. Sirian decided that he would rather eliminate Kairi before things got too intense, so he ran straight at the Keyblade-wielding duo and dove at them, bowling both of them over. He made his way to Kairi, easily slipping behind her. He held the point of his cane to her neck.

"You lose." His face softened. "Please don't make me strike you again, Benihime-san." Kairi sighed and smiled.

"Oh fine. I guess I forfeit!" Somehow, her smile only got wider.

/

"I guess this is where things get serious." Sirian watched as Sora spoke, his yellow outfit matching the sand he stood over, Way to the Dawn spinning away a few inches from his left hand.

"I guess so…" The pair took a fighting stance. "I guess you can only do two forms without help… Valor and Wisdom are what you call them, right?.. And it appears that this time, Riku doesn't have enough power to put you into Final Form by himself."

"Maybe not," Sora said confidently, "but you remember, I was able to at least keep up with you in Valor Form earlier, and right now…" Sora raised a Keyblade and green Cure magic enveloped him. "I think you're a little more beat up than I am."

"True," Sirian said, his grin not fading. "It does seem that you have the advantage. Now you had best capitalize on it before something happens to that advantage." Sora smiled in return and charged headlong at Sirian. Sirian met Sora's right-handed strike with his guard and dodged the long, sweeping left handed strike that followed. Sirian and Sora exchanged blows, neither of them scoring even a glancing hit on the other. As the broke apart, even Sora was slightly out of breath. Sirian smiled wide, an idea coming to him, and charged directly at Sora.

Sora tried to deter Sirian with a few blasts of Blizzard magic, but Sirian simply dove sideways out of the icy projectiles' path and kept charging. Sirian's heavy-handed attack was met by Sora's Way to the Dawn, spinning in front of his left and to act as a shield. Sora swung at Sirian with his left hand, but Sirian grabbed Sora's arm, preventing the swing. They then spun, disengaging, and Sora brought both weapons around in unison in a clockwise-spinning strike. Both were halted by Sirian, who aimed a quick, low kick at his opponent. Sora leaped to avoid it, but before he knew it, Sirian was in the air next to him, his cane raised up and aimed downward, about to stab Sora like a spear. Sora used an Aerial Dodge maneuver to avoid his foe, but Sirian's eyes stayed locked onto the Way to the Dawn Keyblade as it spun around Sora.

_There!_ Sirian hurled his cane down through the handle of Way to the Dawn, pinning it to the ground. Sirian hit the ground as Sora noticed what he had done. Sirian bolted toward the entangled weapons.

"Thunder! Thunder! THUNDER!" Sirian dove and dodge-rolled as peals of lightning struck the ground around him, desperately trying to rearm himself. He reached the weapons, drawing them out of the sand and facing down Sora.

"Let's see just how big an advantage this dual-wielding thing is!" As Sora watched Sirian charge at him again, he uttered three commands.

"Revert!" His clothes returned to normal and Riku's weapon returned to him as he rejoined the fight.

"Fire!" A great wheel of flames encircled Sora, causing Sirian to dive away from him and instead move toward an unprepared Riku.

"Heal!" Green Cure magic again covered Sora, replenishing his depleted health and energy, but it was too late.

Just as he entered the battle, Riku was set upon by Sirian. Riku blocked the first strike but was easily overpowered. Sirian continually attacked, whirling and flourishing as his cane flashed against Riku's weapon. At first Riku blocked about half the strikes. Then only a third of them. Before long he was beaten down to the point of being defenseless, and with one final horizontal slash, Sirian removed Riku from the fight. As Riku admitted defeat and his weapon came to rest in the sand, Sirian heard Sora on the other end of the beach.

"Power!"

Riku's weapon disappeared and landed once again in Sora's red glove.

"Quite the strategy," Sirian said, "but sacrificing your teammate to execute it seems a little cold, don't you think?"

"Actually," Sora started, dropping his serious expression, "I was planning on using Wisdom Form, but since Riku was done, it would have been hard to fight in that form. And since Riku and Kairi aren't fighting, I can use their weapons in this form!"

"Very good strategizing. You truly are becoming a really great fighter. But now neither of us can use magic, you because of your Valor Form's restrictions, and I because of the terms of our sparring match! So let us put you to the final test of pure swordsmanship!" The combatants rushed at each other again. As they clashed, Sirian seemed to be a blur to Sora. In the momentary pause of their clash, Sora saw that Sirian had moved so quickly that he was able to pin Sora's primary weapon down by entangling it with his cane once again, and had stopped his left arm from swinging forward with his bare hand just like before. Sora pulled hard on his right arm, tearing the weapons lose and sending them into the air above the two fighters. As both young men grabbed at the weapons, they disengaged. When they saw the weapons they had grabbed, Sora was dismayed to see a cane in his right hand and a Keyblade in his opponent's. Without hesitation, however, Sirian charged again, leaving himself open. Sora brought the two weapons in his hands together in a scissor-like fashion. Sirian blocked Sora's Keyblade with his own, but that left no defense against the cane Sora swung. It connected at full speed with the side of Sirian's neck.

"Rookie mistake; using a weapon you don't understand." Sirian took absolutely no damage from the strike. It was as if the cane had barely touched him. He spun the Keyblade in his hand around, dislodging Sora's from it. As he reaffirmed his grip with the Kingdom Key facing down, he landed a vicious diagonal upward strike on Sora, who was still in awe of the cane's apparent disobedience to him. The hit sent Sora sailing across the sand, and when he came to rest, his Valor Form had vanished, and the Way to the Dawn along with it. Sora recovered slowly, trying to stand as Sirian slowly walked up to him.

"Things just got a lot worse for you, as far as this practice match goes." Sirian walked up, twirling the Kingdom Key and sounding almost disappointed. "But I must say, your Drive Forms are much more complex than I thought they were." Standing over Sora, he threw the Keyblade down, digging it into the sand next to Sora. "Now you still have a chance," he explained, "So stand up and finish our warm-up with honor." Sora slowly stood and grabbed the Kingdom Key. He looked at the Keyblade and at the cane, then at his unarmed opponent. He smiled.

_It's just practice,_ he thought. He swung both weapons at Sirian, who merely sighed. He jumped over the Keyblade swing but let the cane hit him. It again stopped just as it hit him, causing no damage. Sirian then wrapped his arm around the cane, holding it fast, and hit Sora with a powerful karate front kick. As the last member of the Sextet stumbled away, Sirian twirled his cane and stretched.

"Nice warm-up, everybody!" He beamed, but only a chorus of grumbles and groans responded. "Now, who's up for some real training?"

"… Anybody?"


End file.
